Ripple of Secrets: Rose Gardner Mystery Novella #6.5 (Rose Gardner series Book 3) (5 page)

His grin faded. “Rose, I couldn’t tell you.”

“Why?” I asked, getting indignant. “Did you really think I was going to blow your cover?”

“No.” He sat up. “Of course not.”

I sat up with him and turned to face him. “Then why did you keep it a secret?”

He took my hand and searched my face. “Sweetheart, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I would trust you with my life. But you know that, officially, I
can’t
tell you.”

“That’s not fair, Mason.”

He was silent and looked out the window, as if searching for an answer out there.

“You could have been killed—no, you
would
have been killed—if I hadn’t been there.”

“Rose,” he said, sounding more gruff. “If you hadn’t been there, things might have turned out differently.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, getting angry. “Are you insinuating that I messed up whatever it was you were doin’? Because the way I remember it, you were about to be tossed out on your behind when I showed up.”

He rubbed his forehead. “I still might have been able to salvage the situation.”

My mouth dropped open. “You
do
think I messed it up!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” I slid out of bed and padded to the bathroom, flipping on the light.

Mason followed me and stood in the doorway. “Rose, look, I understand why you felt it was necessary to go to Gems that night.”

I grabbed my toothbrush and looked at his reflection in the mirror. “
Do you?
You think I was there looking for Dolly Parton, right? Well, there was a lot more to it.”

He had the good sense to keep quiet, his eyes focused on mine in the mirror.

“A good part of the reason I was there was to save
you
, Mason Van de Camp Deveraux. I thought you might be caught in something that would get you in trouble, and I was there to help you get out of it.”

He was silent for a moment, his body rigid. “I still can’t believe that you thought I was taking bribes. You really think I’d commit the crime I’m trying to fight.”

“I didn’t say that,” I said, repeating his words from a few moments before.

His eyes turned cold. “You didn’t have to,” he said, throwing my words back at me. He turned around and left the bathroom.

I ditched the toothbrush and followed him. “I didn’t think the worst of you, Mason.”

He pulled open a drawer and rummaged for a pair of underwear and socks. “So there’s a
good side
to someone taking bribes?”

I grabbed his arm and made him look at me. “I thought you might have been blackmailed. I couldn’t imagine that you would do something like that unless your hand had been forced…or if you were offered something you needed.”

“Money?” he asked, making the word sound dirty.

Tears burned my eyes. “No. Something to help save me from J.R. Simmons.”

His anger faded and he closed his eyes. “God, Rose. I’m sorry.”

I wrapped my arms around his back and pressed my cheek to his chest. “No, don’t say you’re sorry. Sometimes I wish I’d never told you about J.R. Simmons’ threats.”

His arms stiffened. “You’d rather keep it a secret from me?”

“I’d rather keep you
safe.
Now you’re putting yourself in danger on this quest to stop him and I’m terrified for you.” My voice broke. “I can’t lose you, Mason. Especially not like this.”

His arms tightened around me. “I only want to protect you. Can’t you understand that?”

“I understand it only too well. But you’re going to get hurt.”

“Not if I’m careful.”

I leaned back and looked into his face. “Mason, you have to tell me exactly what it is you’re doin’. The not knowing is making my imagination run wild and it’s scaring the bejiggers out of me. Someone tried to kill you last week. How can you be so sure J.R. Simmons wasn’t behind it?”

Skeeter Malcolm thought his own turncoat men were the perpetrators, but I wasn’t convinced. Occasional visions were my only precognition “gift,” but some deep instinct told me I was right. There was more to this story than met the eye.

Mason cupped my cheek in his hand and looked into my eyes. “Sweetheart, it was Mick Gentry and his men.”

“He said it wasn’t.”

“He’s a murderer and a liar. His word doesn’t mean much.”

This was getting me nowhere in my quest to make him stop, so I took another tactic. “I know your trip to Little Rock had something to do with J.R. Simmons. Admit it.”

Though he didn’t look away, his jaw tightened slightly. “I was there on off-the-record business.”

“J.R. Simmons business.”

“I can’t tell you everything, Rose.”

“You’re not telling me
anything
.”

“It’s safer for you that way.”

“
Why?
He already wants to hurt me. It’s not like he’ll be any more or less inclined to go after me if you tell me what you’re doing.”

He released a heavy sigh. “It’s not necessarily J.R. Simmons I’m worried about. You could be considered an accomplice.”

It took several seconds for his words to sink in. “You’re doing something illegal to help me,” I whispered.

“I love you, Rose. I
will
protect you.” He stared into my eyes as he said it, his gaze filled with fierce resolution.

I shook my head. “
No.
We’ll find another way.”

“I have to get ready. We’ll talk about this more tonight.” He kissed me gently and stooped to pull out more clothes from a drawer.

“Where are you going?” I asked as he shut the drawer.

“Sweetheart, I promise you this is official business.”

“About J.R. Simmons?”

“No.” He groaned. “Rose, you have to trust me.” He stood in the doorway to the bathroom and watched me. “Do you trust me?”

Trust was a two-way street. Mason had a chest full of secrets that he kept locked away in the name of Fenton County business and my own safety, and while that irked me to no end, I couldn’t deny I had plenty of secrets of my own. Huge ones that could potentially destroy his career if they ever came to light. But one thing I knew without a doubt about this man was that he loved me and was determined to keep me safe. And at the moment, that scared me more than all the half-truths and lies of omission. “It’s not that simple, Mason. There are many ways to trust or distrust someone.”

I expected him to get angry, but he gave a short nod instead. “Okay, fair enough. Do you trust that I’m telling you the truth about my meeting?”

I studied his face. “Yes.”

“Then that’s a good start.”

A good start
. As he turned to go into the bathroom, I couldn’t help wondering how we’d jumped back to the beginning.

Joe

Winter in southern Arkansas is a fickle bitch. One minute she’s warm and sunny and you only have to wear a light coat, then the next day she’ll throw freezing rain at you.

Today, she was in fine form.

It matched my mood.

I almost called Deveraux to cancel our meeting. The county road crew had taken care of the highways, but they hadn’t gotten out to the county roads yet, and while the roads weren’t completely iced over, they had enough slick patches to make driving treacherous. Of course, it might not have been so bad if we’d met at the courthouse or somewhere in town, but after my chat with my father the previous day, I figured that other than official sanctioned Fenton County business, the less we were seen together in public, the better. For both of us.

Which was why I suggested we meet somewhere out of the ordinary. And now it was biting me in the ass as my car slipped and slid on the unsalted paved road.

I’d driven past the deserted gas station on County Road 110 over a dozen times, including on my drive home from El Dorado the previous afternoon. It had occurred to me that it would be great hidden meeting spot. The nearby woods had reclaimed part of the gravel parking lot on the right side, and the left was angled back enough that someone could park a car behind it without being noticed from the road. But Deveraux had only been in Fenton County for seven months, and he’d spent most of his time at the courthouse. When I suggested that we meet at the Sinclair station, he couldn’t place where it was until I mentioned the giant faded dinosaur in front.

His car was idling behind the building, but I didn’t notice it until I pulled around the corner. It really was the perfect location for clandestine meetings, and though I appreciated that fact for my present purposes, I filed away a reminder to myself to check the place more often for mischievous activities.

Deveraux got out of his car as soon as I pulled up, and the scowl on his face let me know he wasn’t in a good mood. I unlocked the door so he could slide into the passenger seat.

I didn’t waste any time. “What were you doing in Little Rock last week?”

If he was surprised by my question, he didn’t let on. “I’m not sure why you care,
Chief Deputy
.”

“Cut the shit, Deveraux. My father knows.”

His jaw tightened and he looked out the windshield into the trees. “And…?”

“And he wants to know why you were there.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I didn’t have a freaking clue.”

He turned to face me, but his eyes were guarded. “And he bought it?”

“Yeah, because it was true.”

He turned back to face the windshield. “And that’s exactly why I’m not going to tell you.”

“He’s watching you like a hawk, Deveraux.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Did it ever occur to you that you’re putting Rose in
more
danger?”

He didn’t answer. I considered telling Deveraux that I had a way of saving Rose from my father’s blackmail—one that would allow him to back out of his crazy scheme—but I knew he’d never go for it. Besides, I wanted to get more answers before I volunteered any information.

I had to know far he planned to go. “Did you take her with you?”

His jaw tightened. “Maybe you should ask Rose.”

My temper flared. “I’m asking you, you asshole. The only reason I’ve put up with any of this is because I was deluded into thinking you could protect her, but from what I can see, you’re just making things worse.” I took a breath and forced myself to calm down before continuing. “Now where the hell was she? Because she sure as hell wasn’t here.” He started to say something, but I interrupted, “I know Muffy was at Maeve’s.”

This time he was the one to show surprise. Of course, he had no idea how much time I’d spent at his mother’s house lately. He probably figured I knew about Muffy from Violet.

“She was in New Orleans with Neely Kate.”

“New Orleans?” Something pinched in my heart, catching me by surprise. Rose had never left the state of Arkansas before, despite the fact that Henryetta was so close to the Louisiana border. Over the summer, I used to suggest that I could drive her over the state line just for the sake of it, but she’d always insist that when she left the state, it would be for a real purpose, not just to say she’d done it. I’d always thought I’d be the one to take her, although it made sense she would do it with someone else now. But the knowledge still hurt.

“I wanted her to be out of town while I was gone, and I asked her not to tell anyone she was leaving or where she was going.”

“Why?”

“Because
I know
your father is watching. And because someone tried to kill me last week. What’s to keep them from going after Rose next? I didn’t want her with me in Little Rock, but I wasn’t about to let her stay here by herself, either. I figured she’d be safe if she left town without telling anyone. How many more reasons would you like?”

My back stiffened. “You think she’s not safe here? I would have watched out for her.”

“She doesn’t
want
you to watch out for her. She would have insisted on staying at the farm, and you know it.” He turned and glared at me. “And before you can say it,
no
you would
not
have stayed there with her. Not after the way you accosted her in November.”

I fought to regain control. “You’re a rebound, Deveraux. She thinks she wants you, but she’ll figure out the truth sooner rather than later.”

He reached for the door handle. “Since we’ve resorted to this part of the conversation, are we done?”

I groaned. “No. That’s not our only problem.”

He sat back in the seat. “Go on.”

“My father and I had a chat before I left yesterday, and like our conversation this morning, it started with the purpose of your visit to Little Rock. Then it moved on to another topic.”

“Which was…?”

“The Fenton County crime world.”

Deveraux turned completely to face me.

I continued, “He wants me to back off on arresting Mick Gentry.”

His eyelid twitched. “Why?”

“He wants the criminal elements in town to sort themselves out.”

“And what does that mean?”

“He wants Skeeter Malcolm eliminated.”

“He wants you to arrest him?”

“No. He wants Gentry to take care of him for us.”